Unlocking Potential: 5 Reasons Why Women Can Thrive in Tech Careers

The HEC Paris ‘Women in Tech’ virtual round table marked its second edition on October 11th. To break down barriers, eight successful women, with varied backgrounds and positions in technology companies, gave students reasons to embrace a career in technology. This event is organized by HEC Talents, the HEC Paris career center, in tandem with the ‘Digital & Tech’ career fair each year. It is also part of a broader DE&I Collective at HEC Paris that includes recruitment initiatives focusing on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusiveness. 

^{Auteurs/Authors of this article: Erika Palmer & Frédéric Voirin}

When asked to rate the current state of gender equality in the tech industry, 30% of the audience answered, ‘Good - progress has been made, but there's still room for improvement’. How can things be improved? More mentoring was identified as one of the key levers. The results of this in-event poll reflect the ambitions of the ‘Women in Tech’ virtual round table in gathering eight female leaders in the tech sector to share their experience and success stories with HEC students.

For women in tech the gender gap issue is a work in progress. In her welcome speech, Inge Kerkloh-Devif, Director of the HEC Paris Innovation & Entrepreneurship Institute, briefly underlined the facts - careers in the tech sector or technology-related roles continue to increase, yet women account for only 22% of this workforce.  How can we shorten the gap?  

Inge Kerkloh-Devif went on to underline how important it is to have inspiring role models. By sharing success stories of inspirational women, we hope all HEC students will feel empowered to pursue the career path of their choice and to lead a future of DEI efforts and initiatives in an industry where women remain underrepresented.

Women account for only 22% of the tech workforce

Not only did HEC students have the unique opportunity to hear insider details and pro tips on skills, trends, and the future of the tech sector, but they were also privy to the personal stories and anecdotes of the eight panelists. Moderated by HEC students, Mansi Aurora of the HEC Tech Club and Pauline Henry of the Women in Leadership Club, their questions uncovered common themes as major arguments for encouraging women to pursue careers in technology.

#1 Broad career development opportunities in a fast-changing technology sector

Elise Beuriot, who currently leads Public Policy for Amazon.fr, has been with Amazon since 2007.  She joined the tech giant out of business school, held various leadership positions with the Marketplace and Retail teams, and then took up a new challenge in 2021 to launch and run Amazon Future Engineer in France. A project that began in the United States, Amazon Future Engineers is a comprehensive childhood to career program aimed at increasing access to computer science education for underserved communities, such as girls. Her incredible career success story emphasized the evolving nature of the tech sector and the opportunities for growth within a single company.  

Elise: “Because I am in a fast-moving company, it feels like I have changed companies many times. The Amazon I joined in 2007, has very little to do with the Amazon I know today, yet the culture has stayed the same. The culture of innovation and of engagement stays the same, but the variety of topics, the complexity, the size of the challenge, and teams have evolved a lot.”
“I think the beauty of staying in the same company is the possibility to evolve into roles that are very different from the ones at the start. By staying in the same company, I had the opportunity to evolve where I had no prior expertise because of the leadership I had demonstrated and the energy I brought to my work.”

Emmanuelle Brun Neckebrock, Deputy General Manager, CFO of SAP France since 2012, and HEC Alumni (class of 89’), echoed Elise’s testimony.

Emmanuelle: “I echo that sentiment as I really do think that the environment and the company in which I work now has nothing compared to the SAP I joined 20 years ago. We are in an ever-changing environment, moving into the cloud, embarking innovation into our core business processes. We should not limit ourselves to one single growth path.”
“What is absolutely critical to me is to be ready; to know what you want so you can seize the opportunity when it arrives.“  

We are in an ever-changing environment, moving into the cloud, embarking innovation into our core business processes. We should not limit ourselves to one single growth path

Emmanuelle is also the Deputy General Manager and a member of the Executive Committee at SAP France. In addition, she is the President of SAP Foundation France which invests resources and funds to solve societal challenges. Most recently, she has taken over the responsibility of developing an environmental management system.

#2 Work in an international environment and experience the world

Carole Le Garrec, Director in Consulting at Onepoint and an HEC Alumni (class of 96’), emphasized the multicultural and international openings in the tech sector. After seven years in consulting at PwC and Beringpoint, nineteen years at Yves Rocher, Carole joined Onepoint in 2022. She manages IT plans and complex programs in France and worldwide, and she now works with large groups, and medium sized companies on defining and implementing transformation plans spanning across processes, IT, and organization dimensions.

Carole: “I think in tech we have a multi-cultural and international opening because many of the companies I work for have subsidiaries and assets to deploy and change in all locations. It has been an opportunity for me to maintain a regional location while having an international scope. I can still live in Brittany and work with people around the world.”

In tech we have a multi-cultural and international opening because many of the companies we work for have subsidiaries and assets to deploy and change in all locations

Guangzhao Sun, Group Sales Director for the Global Orange Account at ZTE, took this point one step further in her testimony.

Guangzhao: “I started my career in Africa - in Dakar, Senegal. So first, I want to say to women, ‘don’t be afraid of Africa.’ It depends on the city. Dakar was a very nice city and I loved it very much. I worked with Orange Senegal for almost 5 years and became familiar with Orange Group work procedures and the organization. Then I went to Serbia and stayed there for almost 2 years to get more experience about terminal markets. Since 2016, I’ve been in Paris and in charge of the RAN product sales. So, women, don’t hesitate to show your abilities, your skills, and to speak out when there is a chance or opportunity for a promotion.”

#3 A corporate culture of diversity and inclusion that goes beyond empty claims

Sunethri Manthena Albino from Microsoft stressed the significance of a corporate culture of diversity and inclusion that goes beyond empty claims.

Sunethri Manthena Albino, an HEC Alumni (class of 2017), who has been working at Microsoft for over half a decade now, is currently serving as the Commercial Executive for EMEA Sales. Her expertise lies in commercial pricing strategy and deal making excellence, fostering growth for both customers and Microsoft. Sunetri is also an active member in employee resource group (ERG) at Microsoft like Diversity and Inclusion and Women at Microsoft. She has also been recognized with the gold mentor badge from Microsoft for her dedication to guiding early career professionals.  

Sunethri: “One of the things that really stood out for me was, of course, the kind of culture we have within the company where diversity and inclusion are not just buzz words but are really the heartbeat of how everybody thinks and makes decisions on a regular basis. I remember an interesting explanation of why inclusion is as important as Diversity. Diversity is having a lot of different nationalities and cultures within the same team. So, it's like being invited to a party where you know there’s a lot going on. Inclusion is a step further where you are not just invited to the party, but also to the dance floor so you feel a sense of inclusion and are able to enjoy the party with everyone else. Right. That's why inclusion should always be top of mind. We should not stop at diversity.”

Inclusion is a step further where you are not just invited to the party, but also to the dance floor so you feel a sense of inclusion and are able to enjoy the party with everyone else.

Sunethri went on to discuss the role and importance of Employee Resource Groups within Microsoft.  

Sunethri: “Employee resource groups are another great way of leveraging that internal talent and diversity because they are transversal, almost like communities. You could join the ERG of your choice like Women at Microsoft ERG, or, say, the Asians at Microsoft ERG. With diversity everywhere, it's nice to go back to an environment you’re familiar with, and to hear from those people what they are going through. I could speak to a woman about a difficult situation that had happened to me within the sales environment, and then she could give me tips on how she deals with maybe being the only woman in the engineering team. I think I would sum it up by saying that you must find your own space and really see what opportunities and challenges you have?  You need to be very clear on that. It’s important to know when to raise your hand and speak up. That really was something that helped me a lot.”

It’s important to know when to raise your hand and speak up

#4 The opportunity to leverage one's expertise to make equity a reality

Christelle Salame, Data Consulting Partner at Artifact in Dubai, is the global industry lead for the real estate practice. She has more than 12 years of consulting experience with extensive knowledge in large scale data and digital transformation. She has led multiple multiyear programs from strategic governance design to implementation. She has also worked with various public and private sector companies.

Christelle shared the importance of equity and trust in her career.

Christelle: “For me it was about equal treatment and positioning me the same way that they would have positioned anyone on the team in front of the clients. For example, when I first started managing teams, I was working with clients that were, at the very least, 90% male.  Depending on the culture, it might not always be an easy position for a woman. Fortunately, in this situation, I was just positioned as the manager because I had the right capabilities. It was never a question, regardless of who the audience was. I knew that whatever happened, my manager would support me. Luckily, I never needed further support.”

When I first started managing teams, I was working with clients that were, at the very least, 90% male

#5 Role model and Mentoring for Women in Data Science

Take Marija Nakevska, CPO of the Merchant Services Division at Worldine, as an example role model. She has over thirteen years working experience in the Fintech industry, including more than eight years building payment products in her role at Worldline. She shared insights not only on how to successfully lead project teams across multiple continents, but also expertise in integrating new technologies to provide the best product and service. She has a background in computer science and holds a Ph.D. In industrial design.

Selsabil Gaied, AI and Data Senior Manager at IBM Interactive France has been a part of the senior management of data and AI architecture for about five years at IBM. She emphasized the value of working on soft and technical skills, self-awareness, and seeking mentorship for career growth.

Selsabil: “Each time I changed positions, I worked hard, either on soft skills or technical skills.  I also worked on self-awareness, first of my own capabilities, and then on the way to bring this confidence into my next role. Mentorship was really helpful multiple times in my career as it helped me understand what my key strengths are and also, how I can position myself to seize the opportunities.”
“Do not hesitate to reach out to people, to have mentors. You have the chance today to be among a great number of very inspiring people, but also have the chance to be working together. Do not hesitate to use that, to develop your own skill set and develop your career growth strategy.”

Mentorship was really helpful multiple times in my career as it helped me understand what my key strengths are

Selsabil has a strong data science and cloud engineering background. She has also been involved in designing solution architecture tailored to solve clients’ most complex challenges. She also volunteers as an Ambassador at Women in Data Science at Stanford University where she graduated in 2021.

An Event with Impact

From insider insights on how compensation rations can change the way we discuss and negotiate salaries, to solutions on combatting gender bias in generative AI, to the themes outlined above, there were many important takeaways from this year’s event.

It is not easy to make time to volunteer for a round table discussion, but the exchange of knowledge, experience, and advice can have a huge impact.  All the panelists agreed, jobs in tech will continue to increase and it is so important women pursue these opportunities with confidence. A huge thank you to these role models for sharing. We hope this will inspire others to share as well.